WOMEN AT WORK
Dovetail Workwear debuts ultra-comfortable women’s workwear with LYCRA® EcoMade brand fibers
Jun 02, 2026
The women's workwear segment is growing — and that matters. For too long, workwear, personal protective equipment (PPE), and professional clothing have been built for men's bodies, leaving women in the trades and beyond to make do with gear that's too big, too tight, or simply never designed with them in mind; in a 2024 survey by the Women’s Engineering Society, a mere 4% of women said their equipment fit “perfectly.” It can have a real impact on how jobs get done — or don't.
According to research cited by the British Standards Institution, 57% of women workers surveyed said poorly fitting PPE “sometimes or significantly” hampered their work. That’s more than half of women workers reporting that ill-fitting workwear has stood in the way of their ability to do their jobs. There’s an obvious solution to this problem: Make better workwear for women.
Dovetail Workwear is leading the charge.
Founded in 2018 in Portland, Oregon, by two women landscapers, Kate Day and Kyle Marie Summers, and apparel developer Sara DeLuca, Dovetail crafts workwear “by, for, and with women.” Launched with the goal to give working women real options, Dovetail is now the largest exclusively women’s workwear company in the northern hemisphere — and relentlessly focused on fit. It's central to everything Dovetail makes, which is what made partnering with the LYCRA® brand such a natural next step as Dovetail continues to evolve its offerings.
"Everything we build starts with one question: does it fit the way women actually work? Because bad workwear isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s a liability. As a women-led team, we scrapped the old model and rebuilt from the ground up, alongside thousands of women who told us what they need. The result is gear that moves with you, performs under pressure, and gets out of your way."
Sara DeLuca
Co-founder and VP of product
Dovetail Workwear
NEXT-GEN WOMEN’S WORKWEAR IS HERE
In their many conversations with real women workers, Dovetail kept hearing the same refrain: “I want comfortable, durable workwear that keeps me cool on the job.” So Dovetail Workwear teamed up with the LYCRA® brand to create a new line of women’s workwear that answers the call.
The COOLSWAP™ collection checks all the boxes:
All-day stretch
Breathability
Moisture wicking
Fit that doesn’t bag or sag
And that’s all thanks to LYCRA® T400® A EcoMade fiber, one of our most durable and sustainable fiber solutions. This unique innovation from the LYCRA® EcoMade brand offers a cottony hand feel while delivering the comfort of stretch and cooling. It’s made with at least 50% post-consumer recycled polyester and 14% plant-based materials, and is Global Recycled Standard certified. In Dovetail’s garments, it adds the flexibility and performance hardworking women want.
Supporting this innovation at the fabric level, Sapphire Finishing Mills brings advanced textile engineering and finishing expertise, ensuring that fabrics with LYCRA® fiber deliver durability, comfort, and performance in real work environments.
PARTNERING WITH THE LYCRA COMPANY
The COOLSWAP™ fabric was co-developed with Sapphire Finishing Mills, one of Pakistan’s largest and most innovative textile manufacturers. With a strong focus on sustainable innovation and technical expertise, Sapphire played a central role in translating Dovetail Workwear’s vision into a high-performance woven fabric that meets women’s workwear needs.
Acting as a connector across the value chain and living out our ALL IN ethos, The LYCRA Company brought Dovetail Workwear and Sapphire together to refine and execute the collection. The collaboration between The LYCRA Company, Sapphire Finishing Mills, and Dovetail represents a fully integrated approach, from fiber to fabric to finished garment.
Contact our team to upgrade your next workwear collection with our fibers.